Arr, the lack of water in Panama Canal might just be keepin' some landlubbers from their jolly Christmas cheer!
2023-12-24
Avast, me hearties! Gather 'round whilst I spin ye a tale o' the history o' one o' the Seven Wonders o' the Modern World! 'Tis a grand sight, the Panama Canal, but alas, the waters be runnin' low! Methinks Santa's gifts might be marooned, delayed on their merry voyage. Arrr, what a scurvy situation for Christmas cheer!
At Christmastime, it would be disastrous to see Santa Claus with no presents to deliver. However, if some holiday gifts arrive late, it won't be the fault of Santa's elves or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The Grinch responsible for stalling ships carrying holiday cargo could be the unusually low water level at the Panama Canal. The water is necessary to raise and lower ships as they pass through the locks, so officials have had to limit the number of vessels passing through. This has caused ships to either wait at the canal's entrance or find alternative routes. The Panama Canal, a waterway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, relies on fresh water from Gatun Lake, which is suffering from drought due to the lack of rain in the region's rainforests. Built over a century ago, the Panama Canal is an incredible technological marvel, making maritime crossings from one side of the Americas to the other much easier. Before its construction, ships had to sail all the way south and around Cape Horn, a treacherous and notorious passage infamous for wrecks and lost lives. Even Charles Darwin narrowly escaped a perilous Christmas journey around Cape Horn. Nowadays, cruise ships stop at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, where tourists can observe a variety of penguins. Cape Horn was a menace to shipping companies, and in the mid-19th century, the idea of a canal through Central America gained traction. The French attempted to build a sea-level waterway but failed due to engineering problems and diseases spread by mosquitoes. Eventually, with the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, the Panama Canal was constructed with locks and an artificial freshwater lake. However, the recent drought has caused a bottleneck of ships waiting at the canal, forcing some to consider alternative routes, including the treacherous Cape Horn. This could pose a problem for Santa Claus, who may find himself in a pickle this holiday season.